Well, the little money lesson came sooner than I thought. Emily brought home a bookorder from preschool last week, which gets us both excited. In the past I have let her choose one book to buy each month with money from her savings bank. She didn't get a bookorder in December, so she was extra excited about this one. When we arrived home, she immediately got out a pencil and started circling all the books she wanted--which included every book with a pink cover (she has real discerning taste). Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, every single one she circled cost $3 or more, and she only had $2 in her bank after purchasing her Pillow Pet. The princess one she really wanted (but I really didn't want her to have) cost $5. As soon as I pointed this out, Emily asked for a piece of green paper and made five dollars (see picture). Apparently she has also been paying attention to the TV ads for the new $2 bills with Thomas Jefferson's striking portrait! ;o) I calmly tried to explain to her that you had to have real dollars and not pretend dollars to buy books. I thought we were kind of past it, but it has come up a couple more times since then. I know she still doesn't really grasp the concept of money and where it comes from, but it was a good place to start a conversation. She also seems to be okay with the fact that she has to wait until February and then maybe she can buy a book. In the meantime, I think we might have to start considering some creative ways to teach some more lessons about money.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A money lesson
Well, the little money lesson came sooner than I thought. Emily brought home a bookorder from preschool last week, which gets us both excited. In the past I have let her choose one book to buy each month with money from her savings bank. She didn't get a bookorder in December, so she was extra excited about this one. When we arrived home, she immediately got out a pencil and started circling all the books she wanted--which included every book with a pink cover (she has real discerning taste). Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view, every single one she circled cost $3 or more, and she only had $2 in her bank after purchasing her Pillow Pet. The princess one she really wanted (but I really didn't want her to have) cost $5. As soon as I pointed this out, Emily asked for a piece of green paper and made five dollars (see picture). Apparently she has also been paying attention to the TV ads for the new $2 bills with Thomas Jefferson's striking portrait! ;o) I calmly tried to explain to her that you had to have real dollars and not pretend dollars to buy books. I thought we were kind of past it, but it has come up a couple more times since then. I know she still doesn't really grasp the concept of money and where it comes from, but it was a good place to start a conversation. She also seems to be okay with the fact that she has to wait until February and then maybe she can buy a book. In the meantime, I think we might have to start considering some creative ways to teach some more lessons about money.
Sounds like her solution was similar to many politicians.
ReplyDeleteHow does Emily acquire money for her savings bank? If you blogged about that and I missed it, then I'm sorry...but I'm still curious. I think this is a great lesson. I didn't even think to start this with Kate already but perhaps I should.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love the cute, handmade money!
Mieke wanted all the princess books as well and we had the same conversation at our house. I can't remember what we ordered but it was a $3 book and it came out of her money jar. She also got to put her "give" money into the Alternatives baby bottle.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I have no desire or motivation to deal with teaching Wendell about $$ yet. I guess when the time comes I will start, hopefully before he turns 18 : ) Great work on teaching though! Thanks for sharing as it gives us other moms ideas.
ReplyDelete